Estate Planning / Wills and Trusts

At Halkitis Law we look forward to meeting with you and your family to tailor an estate plan that is both dynamically effective to meet all of your family’s needs. Since each family is unique we customize estate planning services to meet the client’s needs and goals. We help our clients understand and draft or update documents including:

Last Will and Testament

In a Last Will and Testament (commonly referred to as a Will), you are able to clearly specify which property should go to certain individuals. If the court recognizes the will as valid, the assets will be distributed to the beneficiaries as intended. This helps avoid property passing according to Florida’s intestacy laws, which apply when no valid will is in place.

Living Will

This allows you to state the type and extent of medical care you wish to receive if you are unable to express your concerns. It generally refers to whether or not life-sustaining treatment should be administered if you cannot communicate consent to such care, as well as organ donation, the use of euthanasia, dealing with pregnancy-related decisions, etc.

Powers of Attorney

This document is extremely important because it allows you to appoint someone to make financial decisions for you in the event you are incapacitated.

Designation of Healthcare Surrogate

Like the Power of Attorney, the Designation of Healthcare Surrogate allows you to appoint someone to make decisions, but the Designation deals with healthcare-related decisions.

Designation of a Pre-Need Guardian, both for yourself and for minor children

Trusts

A Trust is one of the most effective methods of passing property down to your beneficiaries outside of the probate process. In addition to avoiding Probate, a Trust can allow you to plan for minor children, dependent adult children or relatives, beneficiaries with Special Needs, pets, and more. This can save a family time, money, and frustration after the loss of a loved one.